Date Your Friend’s Friends With a New Dating App

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Avoid horny modern dating apps with a new app that introduces you to people your friends can vouch for.

By Nicole Buckler

Modern dating apps have earned themselves a rather grubby reputation. Many of the more genteel amongst us find them overrun with behaviour that makes the user feel like they are trapped a porno. Filmed in 1986. In Chechnya. In a storeroom. Take a quick squiz at instagram.com/tindernightmares for a taste of the flavour. It’s not great.

Many feel that the filters and etiquettes that are used in real life have gone out the door with today’s dating apps. Why? Detachment. When people are detached, they can get careless and say anything that comes to mind, even if it’s foul, offensive, or rude. We have all seen the Tinder screenshots. You know, those appalling ones where daters go from human beings into wild crazy stalkers across the span of three texts. Ewww. Gross.

Dating used to be personal, and connections were often made through friends. This created an acceptable level of pressure to behave and act like a civil human being. If you acted like a douchecanoe, then your other friends would hear about it, and perhaps even your mother. And then you would be a freak, and no would would date you ever again. You’d have to join some cult where celibacy was a way of life.

But now, an app has emerged that uses this old-school style of social control as its main selling point. Called Coffeepass, it aims to bring etiquette back to the social connection and dating scene.

Dev Melepura is the CEO of Coffeepass. After college, Dev worked professionally as a tech consultant, living out of a suitcase, constantly travelling to new locations. In between his consulting career, he also worked on a tech startup called Groupbuddy.

“As a travelling tech consultant, it was hard to maintain a social life back home and meet someone; the entrepreneurial period in-between was an isolating journey too. I tried online dating a few times but found it to be a bad experience every single time; I began to think that it needs to be approached in a different way.”

Coffeepass is the result of this new approach to dating, which, perhaps ironically, is based on the oldest approach in the book: meet someone great through friends. It’s the way our parents did it, and we turned out okay. Well I did, not sure about you.

Coffeepass doesn’t use algorithms to match people. On Coffeepass, matching happens through extended Facebook friends. It’s six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but in real life. And you get to be Kevin!

And refreshingly, it’s not just about dating. The app also brings groups of friends together to meet up in person. So if you are feeling like you just wanna go out, with both singles and smug marrieds, it’s worth having it just for that. The theme of Coffeepass is: “Bring your friends as well. Let’s all go out.” Unless you hate your friends. Then, you need to check out that celibacy cult. They ALWAYS have vacancies.

The Coffeepass iOS app has just launched and the company will soon release an Android version as well. You can download the Coffeepass iOS app here or sign up through their web-based platform at coffeepass.com.

Perhaps you don’t like the idea of dating friends of friends? Then perhaps a new dating app that focuses on your creativity and not headshots might appeal to you.

Most online dating profiles start with a request to upload a headshot, but this newly-launched dating app has something else in mind. The Hart app is the first dating app that features no headshots, but focuses on creativity instead.

“It’s a new era for making dating connections,” says Scott Webb, the app’s creator. People will use their creativity rather than their physical wiles to attract those of like-mind.

Webb was inspired to create the app after attending a Rolling Stones concert. He was struck that rock stars like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards could never have competed on an app like Tinder, but still drove women crazy anyway. He created this app because he felt that raw talent often contributes to magnetism.

So back to you. If you don’t want to die alone, then think… Can you spin words into beautiful poetry? Can you run a five-minute mile? Are you an awesome artist? Want this to be your main selling point, rather than your cleavage or your loincloth? Now, it can be.

“Real relationships are more complex and ‘commonality through expression’ may be the better variable,” Webb suggests. The Hart app provides the ideal platform for showcasing graphics, sketches or photos of their creative inventions or unique interests. Other interested users make comments or “write a critique.” If the artist and the critique resonate, it’s a match.